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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23954128">Never have I ever… fallen for my nemesis</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyblah/pseuds/ladyblah'>ladyblah</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Never Have I Ever (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Angst, F/M, Pining, Teen Angst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 15:01:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,349</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23954128</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyblah/pseuds/ladyblah</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Set after the events of episode 1x10. </p><p>Devi has just returned from a vacation to India with her mom and Kamala – a compromise on not moving back there permanently. After nearly a month away, Devi is looking forward to seeing Eleanor and Fabiola again. And also Ben. </p><p>Actually, mainly Ben.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ben Gross/Devi Vishwakumar</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>65</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>564</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The first day back</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Devi stood in her room unpacking her suitcase, feeling anxious and excited for her first day back at school tomorrow. She’s just spent three weeks in India with her mom and Kamala – a compromise on not moving back there permanently. After nearly a month of sightseeing, reuniting with cousins and learning how to cook traditional meals from the aunties, Devi was now looking forward to being back with her friends.</p><p>She's already picked out a perfect outfit to wear tomorrow, accessorised with some cute bracelets she got on her trip. She’s even made some laddu, in an effort to show off her newfound cooking skills to her classmates. She couldn’t wait to see Eleanor and Fabiola again, who were desperate for Devi to fill in the blanks from all her emails and Instagram stories. She had sent some snapchats of the Holi festival to Paxton too, remembering he’d previously shown a fascination with her culture (although he hadn’t replied with much more than a thumbs up emoji).</p><p>And then there was Ben. Devi wasn’t quite ready to admit it to herself, but she missed him most of all. She had tried writing an email to him practically every day of her trip but could never find the right thing to say. She suspected he felt the same, as she hadn’t heard anything from him either these last few weeks.</p><p>She thinks about how they left things and was desperate pick things up and have a conclusion. After they kissed that day at the beach, they sat in his car smiling like idiots for a good few minutes before she had to rush back to her mom and Kamala.</p><p>It was that night that her mom suggested a family trip to India to give them a much-needed break from all the drama of the past year. Devi could see how much her mom was longing to reconnect with family and friends, so was happy to agree to the trip. The next morning, she messaged Eleanor and Fabi to let them know she was going away, before trying (and failing) to craft a flirty text to Ben.</p><p>“<em>Hey, I want you to know that I won’t stop thinking about you and-</em>”</p><p>No, she can’t send that to him after one kiss, she sounds like a psycho. So, she tried playing it cool:</p><p>
  <em>“Hi cutie, yesterday was fun ;)”</em>
</p><p>No way. Definitely not that either.</p><p>Realising that it was too challenging to have a ‘where do we stand?’ conversation over text, Devi decided to wait and do it properly in person when she gets back, and in the meantime settled for a more factual update to Ben:</p><p>
  <em>“Hey Gross, thanks again for letting me crash with you and for helping me sort things with my mom. You’re a good friend. We’re actually going back to India for a few weeks, so I’ll have to get my things from your place when I get back. Hope that’s cool?”</em>
</p><p>He doesn’t text back right away like she was hoping, and she worries her message was a little too chill. In fact, she doesn’t hear from him until the next morning when she’s heading to the airport.</p><p>
  <em>“Hey David, no problem, glad to hear you made things right with your mom. Enjoy your trip! Can’t wait to hear all about it :)”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Devi spends most of the morning of her first day back catching up with Eleanor and Fabi, showing them pictures of her cute cousins. They in turn fill Devi in on all the gossip of Sherman Oaks High, like how Jessica Wu supposedly got her tongue pierced, and how Trent Harrison and Zoe Holstead were caught having sex in the music room.</p><p>Devi hadn’t yet told her friends about her kiss with Ben, only because she didn’t know what to make of it herself. And after last time she got carried away in announcing she was sleeping with Paxton before it had even happened, she didn’t want to be humiliated again. She planned to tell her friends everything as soon as she had talked to Ben today and they were officially dating.</p><p>But the day goes by slowly. Devi keeps scanning the school for any sight of Ben but she can’t see him anywhere. Instead, she has to wait for the first class where she knows she’ll see him – History. That’s where she’ll finally be able to talk to him and give him her gift (he’s the one she had really made that laddu for – ever since he had dinner at her house she wanted to prove to him that not all Indian was spicy, but could also be sweet and delicious.)</p><p>She ends up running late for History by losing track of time in the bathroom reapplying her lip gloss and fixing her hair (she was hoping to achieve the same heart eyes from Ben that he gave her that day at the beach). Devi enters at the back of the classroom and is the last one to take her seat. Paxton turns around in his chair and smiles as she comes in, as does Mr Shapiro.</p><p>“Why if it isn’t Miss Devi Vishwakumar!” Mr Shapiro exclaims, with a little too much flair and enthusiasm. “I hope your trip to India was enjoyable, as well as educational.”</p><p>Devi smiles as she slips off her backpack and takes her seat. Paxton leans over his desk beside her.</p><p>“Welcome back Lil D!” he whispers. “Those snapchats you sent me were crazy, India looks dope! I showed Rebecca and she wants to hear all about your trip too – especially the fashion. Maybe we can all hang out sometime, like after school?”</p><p>“Sure, sounds great,” says Devi, smiling warmly.</p><p>She turns back in her seat and sees the back of Ben’s head. He’s looking down, apparently absorbed in his textbook. Weird. He mustn’t have heard her come in. She’s about to tap him on the shoulder when Mr Shapiro begins the lesson. But then something strange happens – Ben doesn’t turn around all class, not even to challenge Devi’s answers to Mr Shapiro’s questions. Even when the bell finally goes, Ben’s the first one out the door, leaving Devi at her desk packing up her things, feeling deflated and confused.</p><p>“Everything okay Devi?” says Eleanor, as she and Fabi walk with Devi towards the cafeteria, “you’re really quiet all of a sudden.”</p><p>“Its nothing,” says Devi, reaching for her phone in her pocket. She can’t take the tension any longer and starts writing a text message to Ben – the flirtiest text she can muster, self-restraint be damned!</p><p>
  <em>"Hey Ben, I know we haven’t had a chance to catch up today, but I really miss you and can’t stop thinking about our kiss at the beach. Can we talk about it, preferably before my next class? ”</em>
</p><p>But before she has the chance to hit send, she sees something that stops her cold in her tracks. Across the hall, Ben and Shira are making out against a locker. Like, hardcore making out. It’s all tongues and hands and soft moans. Devi’s heart sinks, and she feels sick.</p><p>“On second thought guys,” she says, turning to her friends “I’m gonna skip lunch. Not feeling so good, must be jetlag. I’ll catch up with you later.”</p><p>Devi turns and quickly walks in the opposite direction down the hall. She stops at the first trash can she sees, taking the container of laddu from her backpack and dumping it.</p><p> </p><p>Devi keeps thinking about what she saw the rest of the day. She can’t help it, it’s playing on a loop in her head. She struggles to concentrate on anything else, and even misses the opportunity to correct her teacher’s mistaken verb conjugation in French class.</p><p>When Devi gets home after school, she lies on her bed re-watching old Riverdale episodes on her laptop, just to have something else to think about.</p><p>“Devi,” Kamala calls from downstairs, “you have a visitor.”</p><p>Oh crap, thinks Devi. She'd completely forgotten what Paxton said about Rebecca wanting to hang out and hear about her trip. Devi’s not in the mood at all, but puts on a brave face and goes downstairs. It’s not until she reaches the doorway that she sees who it is.</p><p>“Hi,” she says quietly.</p><p>“Hi,” says Ben. He’s standing on her porch with a bag of clothes by his feet. It’s the first proper time she’s seen him all day – not including the back of his head. He’s wearing his usual polo shirt and slacks combo, which shows off his broad shoulders and toned arms. Devi wonders if he’s somehow gotten hotter in their three weeks apart, or if he was always hot and she just hadn’t noticed before.</p><p>“I’m bringing back the stuff you left at my house,” he says, handing the bag over.</p><p>“Thanks,” she says. “Do you wanna com-”</p><p>“See you later,” Ben says abruptly, turning to leave. He’s halfway down her footpath when she calls after him.</p><p>“Wait, that’s it?” she says.</p><p>He stops, turns and gestures to the bag he just handed her. “Yeah, that’s all Patty found.”</p><p>“I wasn’t talking about my clothes. I meant…” Devi feels self-conscious. She puts the bag inside her entryway and shuts the door behind her, just in case Kamala is listening. “Can we talk for a sec?” she begins clumsily.</p><p>Ben slowly walks back to the porch but stops at the bottom step, keeping his distance. “What’s up?” he asks impatiently.</p><p>“Ben, we haven’t seen each other in three weeks. I’ve literally been on the other side of the world, in case you forgot.”</p><p>“Technically the ‘other side of the world’ would be more like Madagascar.”</p><p>It was a typical smartass Ben Gross remark, but without the cadence of friendly banter. Instead, it felt cold and dismissive.</p><p>“You’re seriously not gonna ask how my trip was?” tries Devi, again.</p><p>Ben shrugs. “Figured it wasn’t any of my business. I mean, half our class has been talking about you and all your adventures in India. But seeing as I didn’t get a single message or email from you I figured you didn’t want me to know.”</p><p>“They only know about my trip because its on my Snapchat and Instagram stories,” says Devi. “It’s not like I was updating everyone with a personal message.”</p><p>“Right, not everyone," says Ben. "Just Paxton.”</p><p>Devi looks at Ben as he watches her carefully. “That’s not what happened,” she says.</p><p>“Doesn’t matter, it’s none of my business.”</p><p>His face isn’t even hurt, just vacant, expressionless. There’s another horrible silence in the air between them.</p><p>“I didn't email you,” says Devi, “because I was waiting to talk in person.”</p><p>“Yeah, when?” asks Ben. “The other night when you got back from India? This morning before school? I can see why you’d find it hard to track me down. It’s not like we have millions of classes together.”</p><p>He’s being a sarcastic jerk now. She forgot that he gets like this.</p><p>“Well if I had,” says Devi, “it’s not like you would’ve seen me, with Shira stuck to your face.”</p><p>“Why do you care?”</p><p>Devi scoffs. “I don’t. I just think it’s a little weird given what happened.”</p><p>He keeps looking at her blankly. “Given <em>what</em> happened?”</p><p>Devi stares at him incredulously. Was he really being so obtuse?</p><p>“Ben, <em>you know what</em>.”</p><p>Ben comes up the steps to stand closer to her now.</p><p>“I don’t know, actually. Unless you’re referring to how you stayed at my house, asked for my help with your personal problems, kissed me and then went off the grid for nearly a month. But somehow still managed to find time to give updates to your fake ex-boyfriend.”</p><p>“I told you, that’s not – Paxton’s my friend, and so his sister Rebecca,” Devi sighs. “I’m not going to apologise for sending him a stupid Snapchat. I guess I just thought…”</p><p>“What? That I’d respond to your radio silence by sitting at home pining and writing love sonnets?”</p><p>Devi looks down at her feet, completely embarrassed. This isn’t how she wanted today to go. She feels like an idiot for literally spending days, weeks even, thinking about a boy who had clearly given no further thought to what she considered to be a seminal moment in her teen years.</p><p>“Fine,” says Devi, “if you’re gonna be like this then there’s really nothing more to say.”</p><p>“Great,” says Ben sarcastically. He turns and starts down her footpath again before circling back and marching up the porch to stand in front of her, much closer this time.</p><p>“For the record, Devi,” he says quietly, his face inches from hers. “<em>You</em> kissed<em> me.</em> You started this, Devi. If anyone has a right to feel pissed, it’s me.”</p><p>He lingers in front of her, staring at her lips, and for a second she thinks he might kiss her again. But instead, he turns and walks back to his car.</p><p>Devi picks up her bag of clothes and goes back to her room.</p><p>She puts on another Riverdale episode and this time turns the volume way up. That way, Kamala won’t hear her crying.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The assignment</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Don’t you think it’s time to extend an olive branch?” pleads Fabiola. “Bury the hatchet?”</p><p>“You mean into his torso?” says Devi. “I’d love to.”</p><p>Ever since Devi got back from India, things between her and Ben have been awkward. Actually, awkward isn’t the right word – it’s more like outright antagonistic. Combative, even. Palestine and Israel have a warmer relationship than Ben and Devi right now.</p><p>It started up again mostly from Ben’s side, but damn it if Devi wasn’t going to give as good as she gets. The final straw was when Ben had gone back to referring to her and her friends as The UN, and<em> that shit would not stand.</em></p><p>With such obvious tension between her and Ben, Devi had to fess up to Eleanor and Fabi about what had caused it, as stupid as it made her feel. But to her great relief, they were completely supportive of her (though initially shocked) and said all the right things that friends should say.</p><p>But that was weeks ago, and now their patience was wearing thin. They, along with the rest of Devi and Ben’s classmates and teachers, were frustrated at how they monopolised every lesson to sling insults at one another. It was after one particularly heated exchange in Algebra that Eleanor and Fabiola decided to have an intervention.</p><p>“You know we support all of your decisions,” says Fabiola, “but how long is this vendetta going to go on for?”</p><p>“I’m with Fab,” says Eleanor. “I mean, I love drama more than anyone, but this whole thing has gone from tragic to annoying, like a Taylor Swift breakup song.”</p><p>“The difference Eleanor,” says Devi, “is that Ben and I didn’t breakup. We were never together.”</p><p>“You need to admit that you’re not actually mad at Ben, you’re just heartbroken,” says Fabiola. “Who knows, he might even feel the same way.”</p><p>Devi looks at her two friends. She knows they’re trying to help, but they hadn’t been on the receiving end of Ben’s constant insults. Nor did they feel the same horrible, stabbing pain in their chests every time they saw Ben and Shira walking around school together.</p><p>“Ben didn’t break my heart,” says Devi, defiantly. “He didn’t even bruise it.”</p><p> </p><p>In History, Mr Shapiro is explaining their next class assignment. They had finally moved on from World War II and started a new topic – the women’s suffrage movement.</p><p>“This one’s another group project,” says Mr Shapiro, walking among their desks. “You’ll be working in two’s to compare and contrast the suffragists and suffragettes and the merits of each. Everyone is free to choose his or her own partners, except” he says, crouching down between Ben and Devi’s desks, “you two.”</p><p>They immediately begin to protest but Mr Shapiro speaks over them.</p><p>“No, I don’t want to hear it – you both promised me there’d be no rivalry this year and like all of my ex-girlfriends you have both failed to keep a promise and therefore have lost my trust. I want you to try working together for a change.”</p><p>“This is completely unfair,” says Devi.</p><p>“Agreed,” says Ben. “We should be able to choose our partners like everyone else.”</p><p>Mr Shapiro gestures around the classroom at all the other students who have buddied up.</p><p>“I’d be surprised if you can find someone who wants to work with either of you. Like me, your peers have all had enough of your bickering.”</p><p>Devi and Ben both slump down in their seats, fuming.</p><p>“Look,” says Mr Shapiro gently. “If you’re worried you’re not gonna do as well as the other groups…”</p><p>Ben smirks. “Like that would ever be a concern.”</p><p>“Glad to hear it!” says Mr Shapiro, having got exactly the reaction he was hoping for. “Then I’ll trust you two can make it work. Presentations are due next week.”</p><p> </p><p>After class, Devi begrudgingly follows Ben to his locker to schedule a time to study, but before she can get a word out, Ben stops and interrupts her.</p><p>“Listen up David, I intend to maintain my A average grade even with your mediocrity dragging me down, so here’s the plan: we’re going to meet at your place tomorrow after school. We will not engage in small talk and you will follow my lead on every aspect of the presentation. Understood?”</p><p>Devi scoffs. “Wait, why does it have to my house?”</p><p>“Because my mom’s hosting some new age meditation workshop at our place, and I don’t want to get interrupted every five minutes by her weird nosy friends.”<br/>
“Well too bad, you can’t come to my house.”</p><p>“Why not?”</p><p>“Um… Kamala’s husband-to-be is coming over. It’s a family thing.”</p><p>It was a total lie but Devi didn’t want Ben at her house again. The mere thought of it gave her anxiety. After all, the last time he was there didn’t exactly leave her feeling warm and fuzzy.</p><p>“Let’s just do it today, in the library after school,” she suggests, “and get it over and done with.”</p><p>“I can’t today,” says Ben dismissively. Devi gives a frustrated sigh.</p><p>“Ben, I know you hate me but can you at least try to work with me here.”</p><p>He slams his locker.</p><p>“I said I can’t today, David. Just drop it!”</p><p> </p><p>Rather than sitting around waiting for Ben to agree to a time to study, Devi decides to make a start on the assignment herself. She begins going over her notes after school while she’s waiting outside her therapist’s office. She doesn’t see Dr Ryan as regularly anymore – ever since spreading her dad’s ashes, Devi was fighting with her mom way less and was dealing with her grief much better.</p><p>Devi’s nose is buried in a book when she hears the door of Dr Ryan’s office open.</p><p>“Same time next week?” she hears Dr Ryan say,</p><p>“Sure thing,” says the other patient.</p><p>With those two little words, Devi’s head jolts up from her textbook, as it’s a voice that sounds mighty familiar.</p><p>Devi leans over the arm of her chair to try and sneak a peek at the mystery patient exiting the corridor, but he’s already gone.</p><p>“Devi, you can come in now,” says Dr Ryan, holding her door open.</p><p>“Um, was that Ben Gross I just saw leaving your office?” asks Devi, as she takes her seat.</p><p>Dr Ryan stares back at her completely expressionless. “Devi, you more than anyone should know I can’t talk about my patients. There are confidentiality laws.”</p><p>“Of course,” says Devi. “But um… Ben Gross is a dear, dear friend of mine. So I know he’d be cool if you told me.”</p><p>Dr Ryan gives a knowing smile. “Nice try. Now let’s get back to talking about you…”</p><p> </p><p>As soon as the session has ended, Devi calls Eleanor and Fabiola on her walk home to report the weirdness of what she just saw.</p><p>“How it that weird?” says Fabi “you’re in therapy too.”</p><p>“Yeah, good for him,” agrees Eleanor, “it’s important to talk about your problems.”</p><p>“But what problems could Ben gross possibly have?” asks Devi “He’s literally got the perfect life – rich parents, fancy house, perfect grades, hot girlfriend. What would he need therapy for? Unless he’s paying $100 an hour to talk to Dr Ryan about not being able to grow body hair.”</p><p>Devi smirks at her own joke, but hears Eleanor and Fabiola sigh through the phone.</p><p> </p><p>That night, Devi’s mom comes home just as Kamala is serving Dinner and Devi finishes setting the table.</p><p>“How was your day, mom?” says Devi warmly, filling up their glasses with lemonade.</p><p>This kind of conversation was a ritual now – a habit they had formed on their family trip. They had all been making a real effort to show a greater interest in each other’s lives, and to Devi’s surprise, she actually liked hearing about her mom’s work life. It sounded so easy and drama-free compared to her own teenage world.</p><p>“Oh you know, the usual,” says Devi’s mom as she takes her seat. “It’s all extractions and acne treatments. How was school, for both of you?”</p><p>Kamala shares an update on her biology dissertation while Devi gives a debrief on her English class, where they’re reading a novelisation of <em>The Kissing Booth</em>, which does not impress Devi’s mom at all.</p><p>“Sometimes I think that school is trying to ruin your chance of getting into Ivy League,” she sighs. “Thank god you’re at least doing proper work in history, like this new assignment on women’s suffrage.”</p><p>“How do you know about that? Are you bugging my school now?” jokes Devi.</p><p>“I spoke to Benjamin Gross today and he mentioned you were doing it together.”</p><p>Devi nearly spits out her lemonade. “Mom. Why are you talking to Ben Gross?”</p><p>Devi’s mom shrugs, barely looking up from her plate. “He called my practice today to make an appointment, I was just making conversation, didn’t realise that was such a crime. Anyway, he mentioned your group project so I suggested he come over tomorrow to work on it with you. Kamala and I will both be out so you can study in peace.”</p><p>“Mom! I can’t believe you did that.”</p><p>“What is the problem Devi? I thought this little rivalry was behind you, and that Benjamin was your friend now.”</p><p>“Well, he’s not” says Devi quietly. “He’s definitely not.”</p><p>Missing nothing, Devi’s mom narrows her eyes on Devi and adopts a more serious tone.</p><p>“What is this strange behaviour I detect?... Did this boy… <em>try something</em>?”</p><p>Devi scoffs. “Don’t worry, I doubt he’d ever try kiss me again.”</p><p>“<em>Again!?</em>” shout Kamala and Devi’s mom, practically in unison.</p><p>Devi stares at them both, frozen and wide-eyed. “I didn’t mean ‘again’ I just meant…” but she can’t think of a good cover. “Can we please stop talking about this.”</p><p>“Is that why he showed up at our house the other week?” whispers Kamala. “For more kissing?”</p><p>Devi hears the sound of cutlery dropping.</p><p>“You invited this boy into our house for kissing!?”</p><p>“Mom, I didn’t invite him he just showed up” says Devi, turning to Kamala, “and we weren't kissing!”</p><p>“Devi you know the rules,” her mom continues. “I shouldn’t have to explain that you are forbidden from inviting seductive letharios like Benjamin Gross around to our family home to engage in copulation…I fail to see what’s so funny, Devi.”</p><p>That last comment is in response to Devi's laughter at the idea of <em>anyone, </em>let alone her own mother, referring to Ben Gross as a 'seductive lethario'.</p><p>“Well, we’ll see how funny it is when you’re raising his bastard child," Devi's mom adds.</p><p>“Mom, you’re freaking out for no reason.” Devi reaches across the table and rests her hand on her mom's arm. “Nothing is going on between me and Ben, I promise.”</p><p>Devi’s mom looks completely unconvinced, but agrees to drop the subject.</p><p>The Vishwakumars eat the rest of their dinner in uncomfortable silence. Devi thinks she’s in the clear until her mom comes up to her as she’s clearing the table.</p><p>“I’ve decided to cancel my last few appointments tomorrow,” her mom says matter-of-factly. “They’re just melanoma scans – if any moles do turn out to be cancerous, maybe my patients will think twice next time they go to the beach without sunscreen.”</p><p>Devi rolls her eyes. “That’s completely unnecessary, but fine.”</p><p>“It has nothing to do with Benjamin Gross,” says her mom confidently. “Not everything is about you Devi. I just want to come home early and… catch up on some reading.”</p><p> </p><p>Devi struggles to fall asleep that night. She’s too busy thinking about all the ways her mom’s presence could make tomorrow’s study session with Ben an uncomfortable nightmare.</p><p>Who was she kidding? Tomorrow was going to be uncomfortable nightmare with or without her mom.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The study session</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Devi gets held up after school. Fabiola and Eleanor need her help in deciphering an unexpected and lengthy text message from Eleanor’s absent mother. Throughout their discussion, Devi feels her phone vibrating like crazy in her backpack. When she finally checks it, she’s not surprised to all her missed calls and texts are from Ben.</p><p>
  <strong>BEN</strong><br/>
<strong>Heading to yours now.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>BEN</strong><br/>
<strong>What the hell, you’re not even here?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>BEN</strong><br/>
<strong>It’s just me and your mom. And she’s being weird.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>BEN</strong><br/>
<strong>Seriously David if you’re not here in 10 I’m going home and doing this assignment myself, I don’t care what Mr Shapiro says.</strong>
</p><p>Devi shows the messages to her friends and gives an apologetic look before bolting out of school and running home. She sends a panicked, error-laden text to Ben mid-run:</p><p>
  <strong>DEVI</strong><br/>
<strong>B there soon plz wait in the living room and DO NOT talkk to my mom she vey busy and don’t need the distraction!!!</strong>
</p><p>When Devi gets home she finds her mom doing paperwork in the dining room while Ben sets himself up in the living room, as instructed. He’s sitting on the farthest side of the room in an old chair that almost never gets used.</p><p>“Why are you sitting over there?” says Devi, dropping her backpack to the floor. She looks around her living room and thinks something looks off, and then realises that the furniture has been rearranged so that the armchairs are six feet apart. Typical paranoid Indian mothers.</p><p>“Your mom gave me strict instructions to not move from this chair, under any circumstances whatsoever,” says Ben.</p><p>“Right,” says Devi. “Sorry again for being late, Eleanor and Fabi-”</p><p>“I don’t need your life story,” Ben cuts her off “let’s just get on with it.”</p><p>The first 30 minutes is torturous, as expected. They both want to take the lead on the assignment, and can’t even agree on who should be the suffragist and who should be the suffragette.</p><p>“Don’t you see the irony,” Devi argues “that you, a man, is trying to dominate this assignment on women’s issues!?”</p><p>“Trust me, I know way more about this topic than you – I’m particularly well versed in the subject of reproductive rights,” says Ben.</p><p>“Watching <em>The Handmaids Tale</em> doesn’t make you the authority on reproductive rights!”</p><p>“Well I also know Elizabeth Moss. She’s one of my dad’s clients.”</p><p>Things aren’t helped by Devi’s mom who comes into the room unannounced every 10 minutes while she pretends to ‘look for something’.</p><p>After an hour, Devi insists they take a break and have some tea and Indian sweets that Kamala made.</p><p>“I don’t need a break, I thrive on work,” says Ben stubbornly, but he’s betrayed by his rumbling stomach.</p><p>Devi comes back into the room with a tray of tea and biscuits and places it on the coffee table between her and Ben. They sit cross legged on the floor on opposite sides.</p><p>She can feel Ben’s eyes boring into her while she pours their drinks, and feels incredibly selfconscious.</p><p>“David,” he says quietly, craning his neck around the corner to see if Devi’s mom is listening.</p><p>“I’m not sure quite how to say this so… I’m just gonna say it,” Ben whispers.</p><p>Davi swallows hard. “What is it?”</p><p>Ben leans in, almost conspiratorially. “Am I imagining it or… is your mom being kind of a dick to me?”</p><p>Devi laughs and nearly spits out a mouthful of tea, which in turn makes Ben laugh.</p><p>“Hey, don’t call my mom a dick!” she whispers back.</p><p>Ben mouths a silent, half-hearted ‘sorry’ before taking a sip of his tea.</p><p>“But no, you’re not imagining it,” continues Devi quietly. “I may have told her that you kissed me.”</p><p>Ben’s eyes bulge out of his head. “What the hell!?” he exclaims, a little too loudly. “Do you have a death wish?”</p><p>Devi shushes him again.</p><p>“Keep your voice down,” she whispers, “I didn’t mean to! It was accidental. Don’t worry I won’t be making that mistake again. All I did was mention one kiss and she’s basically written you off as a nymphomaniac.”</p><p>“That explains why she started lecturing me about the virtues of abstinence when I went to get a glass of water.”</p><p>Devi starts laughing again, and Ben smiles at her warmly before taking another sip of his tea. It’s a nice moment.</p><p>“But that’s kind of misleading right” he adds coyly, “telling her that I kissed you. When we both know that you jumped me so-”</p><p>“Excuse me?” says Devi playfully. “No wonder you suck at history with such crap memory. As I recall, I gave you like a small, modest peck and your thirsty ass dived in with a full on make-out kiss.”</p><p>Ben makes a mock horrified face, “That’s <em>completely</em> inaccurate.”</p><p>Devi slowly shakes her head. “I’m telling you – I practically felt your tongue on my tonsils.”</p><p>Ben starts laughing again – stifled, muffled laughs so that Devi’s mom doesn’t hear. When he composes himself again, he turns and looks at Devi.</p><p>“Is that really how you remember it?” he says earnestly. “That I pounced on you and jammed my tongue in your mouth.”</p><p>Devi blushes and pretends to highlight something in her notes. “No, of course not.”</p><p>They’re both silent for a minute.</p><p>“Hey I know this isn’t any of my business,” Devi begins, “but I think I saw you at Dr Ryan’s office yesterday?”</p><p>She says it like a question but Ben knows it’s not. He doesn’t look at Devi but fidgets with his pen.</p><p>“I don’t mean to pry” she adds, “it’s just I wanted to make sure…. are you okay?”</p><p>Ben shrugs. “I dunno. Guess I’ve been feeling kind of lonely and isolated lately. My parents aren’t super involved, neither is Shira really, and it’s not like I have many friends. The only thing I really have going for me is my schoolwork.”</p><p>Devi gives him a sympathetic look and moves her cushion around the coffee table so she’s sitting next to Ben.</p><p>“I’m sorry you’re having such a hard time right now,” she says. “I know what it’s like to feel isolated and like no one sees you. <em>Really sees you</em> I mean. It sucks.”</p><p>She turns her head and looks at Ben. They lock eyes, and the intensity of his gaze makes her heart race. He reaches a hand up to her face and tucks her hair behind her ear. She hears her pulse thumping in her ears.</p><p><em>“I don’t hear pages turning!”</em> Devi’s mom calls from the next room, breaking the spell.</p><p>Ben smiles and picks up a textbook, fanning the pages with his thumb. “We should get back to it,” he says.</p><p>The rest of the study session is a noticeable improvement. Devi and Ben finally make some progress on the assignment and even hear out each other’s ideas and suggestions. There’s even more laughter – much to Devi’s mom’s disdain.</p><p>When it gets dark, Ben starts packing up his things.</p><p>“I gotta head home for dinner – it’s pizza night and Patti makes the sauce from scratch,” he says.</p><p>“What are you doing tomorrow after school?” Devi asks, packing up her own books. “If you’re free, we should hang out again. Preferably not here under the prying eyes of my mother.”</p><p>Ben smiles, “Sure, you wanna go over the presentation format again?”</p><p>“Oh, I meant – not a study date,” she says awkwardly, “I meant, did you wanna hang out as friends?”</p><p>Ben’s eyes soften and he grins. Before he can answer, Devi’s phone buzzes against the coffee table. Ben picks it up and hands it to her, but not before he catches a glance of the screen. His smile falls.</p><p>Devi takes the phone and sees the message preview.</p><p>
  <strong>PAXTON</strong><br/>
<strong>Hey gorgeous! How are you? Can we please hang out soon…</strong>
</p><p>“On second thought,” says Ben. “We can just finish our notes separately and go over them together before we present on Monday. It’ll be fine.”</p><p>“Ben,” says Devi, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice. But he’s already heading for the front door. “Goodnight Mrs Vishakumar” he calls to her mom, who responds with an inaudible (but unmistakably rude) mumble.</p><p>Standing in the living room, Devi grabs her phone and opens Paxton’s message in full.</p><p>
  <strong>PAXTON</strong><br/>
<strong>Hey gorgeous! How are you? Can we please hang out soon – Paxton said you want to show me fashion photos from your trip to India, it’s already giving me some great inspiration for my next clothing designs. Sometime this weekend?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>PAXTON</strong><br/>
<strong>This is Rebecca by the way :) my phone is busted at the moment. Just text if Saturday works and I’ll be at your place then. Thanks! Rebecca x</strong>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The grand gesture</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Things go from bad to worse. Over the next couple of days, Ben stops fighting with Devi – in fact, he stops talking to her altogether. He ignores her in class and hasn’t replied to any of her text messages to meet up and work on their assignment.</p><p>She confronts him about it after chemistry on Friday. As they’re filing out of the classroom, she blocks the doorway with her body as Ben tries to leave.</p><p>“Are you seriously giving me the silent treatment?” she asks him. He just stares at her, expressionless.</p><p>“Could you<em> be</em> any more infantile?” she says again.</p><p>“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he says finally, giving an apathetic shrug.</p><p>“We still need to finish our assignment,” says Devi. “We’re presenting Monday remember? I’m meeting up with a friend tomorrow afternoon but otherwise I’m free all weekend. Just name a time.”</p><p>“Unnecessary,” he says. “I’ve already finished my notes so you should can focus on your half of the presentation. Let’s just <em>tell</em> Mr Shapiro that we worked together, he doesn’t need to know.”</p><p>Devi stares at him. Who was this miserable person taking a half-assed approach to schoolwork and lying to a teacher? It wasn’t the Benjamin Gross she knew.</p><p>Ben slings his backpack over his shoulder. “Why are you complaining anyway?” he says. “This way you get to have your weekend back. Spend it with your dorky friends. Spend it with Paxton. See if I care.”</p><p>He pushes past her through the door, leaving her standing there dumbfounded.</p><p>“You know what,” she yells after him, angrily, “Maybe I will. And you can spend your’s… kissing Shira’s butt.”</p><p>It wasn’t the the wittiest comeback but hey, she was too pissed to think of something clever.</p><p>“Now who’s being infantile,” Ben yells back from the corridor.</p><p> </p><p>That night as Devi is lying in bed scrolling through Instagram, she sees a new post from Ben. He almost never posts, unless he’s at a basketball game with his dad or meeting one of his dad’s celebrity clients. Tonight though, he has posted a photo of him and Shira sitting in a park somewhere watching a sunset. His arm is around her and she’s kissing him. Devi knows he’s posted this just to piss her off. She immediately unfollows him and puts her phone away to go to sleep.</p><p>But she can’t sleep. She keeps thinking about that stupid photo, and all the times she’s seen them kissing in real life around school. Instead of feeling mad like she has been all week, for the first time she just feels truly, profoundly sad.</p><p>When Devi first started seeing Dr Ryan after her dad died, one of the first things she suggested Devi do is write a letter to her dad. She wouldn’t need to show it to anyone or send it anywhere, it was just for herself to help get out the thoughts and feelings she was bottling up. It was one of the few bits of Dr Ryan’s advice that Devi listened to.</p><p>Remembering this, Devi switches on her bedside lamp and sits up in bed, grabbing a notebook and pen from her backpack on the floor. She starts scribbling.</p><p>
  <em>Ben,</em><br/>
<em>First off, you don’t deserve this letter. Frankly you’re being a TOTAL DICK to me right now. Even worse than the time I beat you at Model UN. Or that time in eighth grade when you pointed out to the whole class that I had toilet paper sticking out of my shorts. That was the worst day of my life thanks to you. You didn’t know it but that was the first day I ever got my period and I had to use a wad of toilet paper from the girls bathroom just to make it through the day. And then you had to be a massive jerk and point it out to everyone. I didn’t forgive you for like three weeks after that, but I DID FORGIVE YOU EVENTUALLY. The least you could do is the same. What you’re doing to me now is way worse. And the messed up thing is even though you’re trying to make me hate you, I don’t hate you. The only thing I hate is that we’re not friends right now and that you’re not talking to me. I miss you. I think I might even have feelings for you. I don’t regret kissing you that day at the beach, but I do regret making you think I did. I wish you knew that I thought about you every day I was away in India. I wish you knew the reason I didn’t write was because I was scared that I’d say something stupid and ruin it. It had nothing to do with Paxton and it kills me that you’ll never believe that. Maybe you regret out kiss? I have no idea, since you refuse to talk about it. I hope you don’t. Maybe you just want to be friends, and that’s fine too. I don’t care. I just wish we were talking again. And that you’d be nicer to me. I like it when we’re nice to each other.</em><br/>
<em>Devi</em>
</p><p>She tears the page out of her notebook, folds it in half and tucks it away in her bedside drawer. Feeling like a weight has been lifted, Devi finally manages to fall asleep.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>On Saturday afternoon, Rebecca and Devi are hanging out in her bedroom looking through photos from Devi’s trip while Devi does a show-and-tell of all the new saris and jewellery she bought on her trip.</p><p>“If I knew you were so into this stuff I would’ve brought you some back as a present,” says Devi regretfully.</p><p>“Don’t worry about it,” says Rebecca. “It just gives us an excuse to hang out now! You’re like the only friend of Paxton’s I can talk to. I mean, Trent is nice enough, but he’s kind of a dummy.”</p><p>Devi laughs. “Well if you ever wanna hang out and talk about girly stuff, hit me up. Eleanor and Fabi aren’t really into this stuff so it’s cool to be able do with with you.”</p><p>Rebecca looks around Devi’s room at all her photos, ribbons and trophies.</p><p>“You’re like, really smart huh?” says Rebecca.</p><p>Devi likes having her ego stroked, and grins smugly. “Yeah I’m pretty smart. Eventually I want go to Princeton. It was my dad’s dream for me to go there since he didn’t get in. I mean, it’s my dream too. But I also want to get in for him. Make him proud, even if he’s not here,” says Devi, a little sadly.</p><p>“I get it,” says Rebecca. “I feel that way about my parents too. Being adopted, I feel this huge amount of love and gratitude to them and everything they’ve done for me. I want to make them proud too. And Paxton too. He’s always been so nice and protective of me. That’s just his nature.”</p><p>“Yeah, I’ve experienced myself,” says Devi, remembering all the times he came to her rescue in her time of need. He was a good friend.</p><p>Rebecca keeps walking around Devi’s room inspecting her family photos and starts laughing, “I’ve never seen anyone look so miserable in all my life!”</p><p>Devi winces. “Ugh are you looking at that the photo from our trip to Florida? My mom forced me to wear a bathing suit but wouldn’t let me shave my legs. That’s why I look so grumpy.”</p><p>“No, it’s somewhere else. A competition maybe? You’re holding a trophy and look really happy, but the guy standing next to you looks like he’s having a stroke.”</p><p>Devi follows Rebecca’s gaze to a framed photo on a bookshelf.</p><p>“Oh, that’s from a debate competition two years ago. That’s Ben. I was affirmative, he was negative. Suffice to say, I mopped the floor with him.”</p><p>“Hence the trophy,” finishes Rebecca, who moves closer to inspect the photo again. “He’s actually kind of cute.”</p><p>Devi scoffs. “Don’t be fooled. Sure you think he’s cute at first but then you find out he’s also an insufferable jerk who acts like a child when all you’re trying to do is explain yourself but he never lets you! He just sulks and throws a tantrum for no reason and makes everything way harder than it needs to be. He’s the worst.”</p><p>Devi moves the frame so it lies face down. She doesn’t want to look at him.</p><p>Rebecca smiles at Devi. “I get it. You like him.”</p><p>Devi sits on her bed and crosses he arms.</p><p>“Doesn’t matter,” she says quietly. “He has a girlfriend. Also he hates me.”</p><p>Rebecca gives Devi a sympathetic look. “Have you tried telling him how you feel?”</p><p>“I wrote him a letter,” says Devi. “But it’s not real. I mean, I’m not gonna send it or anything.”</p><p>Rebecca gives Devi a cheeky look. “Can I read it?”</p><p>Devi retrieves it from her nightstand and hands it to Rebecca. “Keep in mind I wrote it at four in the morning, so my penmanship isn’t up to my usual standard.”</p><p>Rebecca sits on the bed and reads Devi’s letter, while Devi sits next to her biting her thumbnail trying to interpret her reaction. Rebecca is taking a while, and Devi wonders if she’s struggling to read her handwriting. Finally, Rebecca folds the paper in half and looks up at Devi bright-eyed and grinning.</p><p>“Okay, I have a crazy idea,” Rebecca says gleefully. “You should totally send this to him.”</p><p>Devi makes a ‘kill me’ facial expression.</p><p>“Rebecca. I’d rather go to the beach with hairy legs again.”</p><p>“Why not?” pleads Rebecca. “It could be the grand gesture that brings you together. Have you never seen a romantic comedy?”</p><p>“Trust me, there’s nothing romantic or comedic about it. He hates me. He would never open a letter from me, let alone come to some sweeping realisation that he’s in love with me.”</p><p>“You never know unless you try. Seriously, I think you should send it – though maybe make a few edits first, I’m not sure he needs to know that period story.”</p><p>Devi looks at Rebecca. She’s unconvinced and reluctant.</p><p>“At least promise me you’ll think about it?” says Rebecca, handing the letter back to Devi. “What do you have to lose?”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>On Monday, Devi shows a revised version of the letter to Eleanor and Fabiola (having taken Rebecca’s constructive feedback) and asks them to weigh into this discussion too. They were the smartest people Devi knew, so she trusted their advice. Unsurprisingly, they were more hesitant about the idea than Rebecca had been, given they had a better understanding of Ben and the whole situation.</p><p>“Maybe you should give it another couple of weeks to mull over?” says Fabiola nervously. “What’s the rush? He’s not going anywhere.”</p><p>“That’s the point Fab,” says Eleanor, looking to Devi sympathetically. “Devi doesn’t want to wait any longer, right? It’s been weeks already and nothing’s changed. I think it’s risky but I agree with Rebecca. I say give it to him.”</p><p>Devi gives a guilty smile to Fabiola. “Sorry Fab, two against one,” she says.</p><p>Devi was projecting total self-confidence in sharing this idea to her friends, but deep down she was as nervous as Fabi. She wasn’t sure it was a good idea, and certainly was in no rush to act on it.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Devi corners Ben before history while he’s eating his lunch. He may not care about this presentation, but damn it if Devi was going to let his newfound laissez-faire attitude drag her down too.</p><p>They do a quick run-through and agree that Ben will present first on the suffragists, followed by Devi on the suffragettes. They review each other’s note cards and realise there’s a bit of doubling up (which they would have picked up had they actually worked together). Overall the assignment isn’t as polished as either of them would like, but neither was willing to admit it.</p><p>The bell rings before they can finish the run-through.</p><p>“We should hurry,” says Ben, “we’re listed as the first group to present so can’t be late.”</p><p>Ben starts shoving his books, notecards and loose papers in backpack and Devi sees a window of opportunity. Anxiously and against her own better judgement, she takes the letter from her pocket and slips it in with Ben’s notes. That way, he can find it later and she wont have to deal with the torture of him reading it in front of her.</p><p>“Here’s the rest of your notes,” she says, nervously handing them to him.</p><p>But then, right in front of her eyes, Devi watches Ben tear all the papers and note cards up, including her letter, and throw them in the trashcan next to them.</p><p>“What the hell are you doing!” She screams, reaching for the trashcan.</p><p>Ben makes a face. “You didn’t seriously think I was gonna use notecards for the presentation did you? We’re not in the first grade anymore David, we should have that shit memorised.”</p><p>Devi glares at him. She feels her eyes burning and wants to cry. “<em>You are such a jerk</em>.”</p><p>He rolls his eyes. “I don’t see what you’re so worried about, we just went through the presentation, we know it off by heart.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>They’re the last to take their seats in History as Mr Shapiro kicks off the lesson. He’s explaining how the assignment will be graded, including extra credit for presentation format and style.</p><p>“If the suffragettes taught us anything, it’s that showmanship counts!”</p><p>Mr Shapiro then calls Ben and Devi up to present. They take their places at the front of the class, but before Ben can even open his mouth, Devi jumps in first, throwing the format they had just practiced right out the window. Angry and resentful, Devi starts giving her half of the presentation first, before Ben. Because <em>screw him.</em></p><p>As she’s talking, she sees Ben out of the corner of her eyes watching her, clenching his jaw. He is<em> furious.</em> When she finally finishes, she gives a smug grin and gestures to Ben.</p><p>“Now I’ll hand over to my partner to talk about the suffragists movement. Over to you Benjamin.”</p><p>Ben scoffs. “I’d love to, but that literally makes no sense now. The suffragists came before the suffragettes. It’s almost as if <em>I should have spoken first</em>.”</p><p>The class uncomfortably shift in their seats. The room just got incredibly tense.</p><p>“It’s okay Ben,” says Mr Shapiro, trying to keep it light. “Just keep going.”</p><p>“Actually it’s not okay Mr Shapiro,” says Ben angrily. “Permission to start over?”</p><p>“No way!” interjects Devi “I’ve already presented mine, I don’t want a do-over. Just stop being a baby and get on with your presentation.”</p><p>“<em>I’m</em> being a baby!?” shouts Ben. “The only reason you went first is to get back at me about your stupid note cards!”</p><p>“Guys,” says Mr Shapiro, trying to mediate the situation. “Do you wanna take five minutes to get your presentation in order?”</p><p>“No!” shout Devi and Ben, before turning back to each other. They’re squaring off at the front of the classroom, and seem to have forgotten where they are.</p><p>“It wasn’t<em> just</em> notecards and they <em>weren’t</em> stupid,” shouts Devi, “but you wouldn’t know that because you never let me explain anything! You’re so stubborn, you go around acting like you know everything but you don’t know anything!”</p><p>“I know enough,” shouts Ben. “You always have to make everything about yourself, Devi, you’re such a spoiled brat.”</p><p>“Hey man, why don’t you lay off her,” says Paxton from his desk.</p><p>Ben gives a bemused, mean-spirited laugh and turns back to Devi.</p><p>“Of course your little boyfriend has to get involved. Just admit that you never wanted anything to do with me. And why would you? You’re clearly obsessed with Paxton!”</p><p>Devi glares at Ben and thinks about how badly she wants to punch him in the face right now. She thinks about the hurt in his eyes and how she wants to grab him by the shoulders and shake some sense into him. She thinks about screaming at the top of her lungs, just to vent some of her frustration. But more than all of those things, she thinks about Rebecca’s advice about making a grand gesture.</p><p>“Oh yeah?” says Devi, finally breaking the silence. “Well if I’m so obsessed with Paxton than why the hell would I do this.”</p><p>She grabs Ben by the back of his neck and pulls him towards her for an angry, passionate kiss. As she’s moving her lips against his, she hears their classmates erupt into gasps and wolf whistles, in between pleas from Mr Shapiro for everyone to settle down. After a few seconds, Devi releases Ben from the kiss and looks up at his face. He doesn’t look angry any more. He doesn’t look happy either – mostly he just looks shocked.</p><p>Mr Shapiro asks the two of them to take their seats as he stands at the front of the classroom again.</p><p>“Well um…thank you Ben and Devi, that was….” But he can’t find the words.</p><p>“Just to be clear with everyone, that’s<em> not</em> what I meant by showmanship, and I will not be giving extra credit.”</p><p> </p><p>A few hours later, Devi is in a weird, fluttery mood. She feels like she’s on an adrenaline rush from History class. But as she comes down from it, she asks Eleanor and Fabiola if she should feel embarrassed about what she did.</p><p>“Dude no way, that was awesome!” says Fabiola. “It’s all anyone can talk about right now.”</p><p>“Yeah,” agrees Eleanor, “honestly if that was a broadway show I’d already be buying tickets to see it again.”</p><p>“But what about Ben?” says Devi nervously. “I didn’t see his reaction, my eyes were closed. What if he didn’t like it?”</p><p>“I don’t think that’s gonna be a problem,” smiles Eleanor. “At least not from where I was sitting.”</p><p>Devi feels her phone buzz in her pocket. She knows it’ll be a message from Ben but feels too nervous to check it right now.</p><p>But maybe if she had checked it, she would’ve known to be on the lookout for Shira and her field hockey buddies. And maybe Devi would have seen Shira come up to her and her friends as they left school and punch Devi square in the face, leaving her lying in the grass with a black eye and a bloody nose.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The rumour mill</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Devi is grounded. Not just, no-hanging-out-with-friends-after-school grounded. We’re talking serious, prison sentence grounded. No going outside <em>at all,</em> no cellphone and extra chores around the house. Her mom doesn’t even set an end date.</p><p>When Devi came home from school that day with a busted face, she planned on telling her mother and Kamala an elaborate lie about getting clipped by a cyclist on her walk home from school and getting thrown into a lamp post.</p><p>But unfortunately, the teenage rumour mill is in full force that day and within hours, some acne-faced teenagers have spread word to their local dermatologist’s office.</p><p>When Devi’s mom gets home and sees Devi’s black eye, she puts the pieces together and realises her daughter is the unnamed Indian girl at Sherman Oaks High who got into a fist fight with another girl after trying to initiate a live sex show with her boyfriend during assembly. Suffice to the say that the teenage rumour mill had certainly <em>embellished</em> a few details… but Devi’s mom was too angry to hear Devi explain this.</p><p> </p><p>That night, while Devi sits in the living room icing her face, the phone rings. Kamala answers it and looks towards Devi’s mom, unsure whether she’s allowed to give the phone to Devi.</p><p>“It’s someone from her therapist's office,” she says, “apparently Dr Ryan can’t make Devi’s appointment tomorrow and needs to reschedule.”</p><p>Devi’s mom looks at her daughter and point a finger at her sternly.</p><p>“Okay. You can take the phone call in the hallway. Two minutes, that’s all it should take to reschedule an appointment. I will be timing you.”</p><p>Devi takes the phone from Kamala and steps into the hall.</p><p>“Hello?” she says.</p><p>“It’s me,” the voice says. It’s Ben. “I tried texting you but you didn’t respond.”</p><p>Devi pauses a second, a little surprised, then loud enough for her mother to hear she says “No problem, happy to reschedule” before lowering her voice again. “I’m grounded. No cellphone.”</p><p>“Yeah I figured,” says Ben. He pauses. “How are you?”</p><p>“Shira punched me in the face,” whispers Devi.</p><p>“Yeah, I heard. I’m so sorry about that. Don’t take it personally, I think it has more to do with me than you.” He pauses again. “I broke up with her.”</p><p>Devi stands in the hallway in silence, absorbing this information.</p><p>“You still there?” says Ben.</p><p>“That’s good,” says Devi. “I mean, not that you broke up. But it’s good that you ended things before Shira had the chance to hear one of those crazy rumours going around about us.”</p><p>Ben laughs. “Oh yeah! Out of curiosity what iteration of the story did you hear? In chess club today, someone asked me if it was true that you and I tried having a three-way with the teacher.”</p><p>Devi starts laughing, “Ew, gross! I just heard that you and I live streamed us making out in an empty classroom after hours.”</p><p>“Well that’s less original,” says Ben, unimpressed.</p><p>Devi sees her mom’s head peer around the corner from the living room and tap the watch on her wrist.</p><p>“How about Thursday?” Devi says loudly into the phone, trying to keep up the act. When her mom turns away Devi starts whispering into the phone again.</p><p>“So is that why you’re calling,” she says to Ben, “to make sure I’m okay after getting punched?”</p><p>“Yeah,” he says, some nervousness creeping into his voice. “Also… I wanted to ask… if you’d like to go out with me sometime?”</p><p>Devi closes her eyes and her heart explodes.</p><p>“I mean,” Ben continues, “whenever you’re next allowed out of your house. Probably not for another 10 years by the sound of it.”</p><p>Devi smiles so hard that her cheeks hurt.</p><p>“I would love to,” she says. “That sounds perfect.”</p><p> </p><p>The next day in school, Mr Shapiro hands out everyone’s grades for the presentations yesterday.</p><p>For the first time in their lives, Devi and Ben both get a B.</p><p>Neither of them even cares.</p>
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